Conversion of St. Paul Bulletin for Sunday 10:00 AM Combined Service
Sermon by The Most Rev. John T. Cahoon, Jr.
Metropolitan, Anglican Catholic Church; Bishop, DMAS;
Rector, St. Andrew & St. Margaret of Scotland
Conversion of St. Paul, Epiphany III, January 25, 1998
I arrived in California to attend (Episcopal) seminary in the fall of 1968. The diocese there was presided over by a bishop named C. Kilmer Myers.... Bishop Myers had been elected in 1966 to succeed the legendary James A. Pike.
Bishop Pike was a brilliant and charismatic and controversial character. He had resigned as Bishop of California because of personal problems, but he continued to challenge theological orthodoxy during his very noisy retirement. He denied such central Christian doctrines as the Trinity, the Resurrection, and the Virgin Birth, and then he dared the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church to try him for heresy.
Both because many of the bishops secretly agreed with him and because they were afraid of the beating Pike the showman might give them in the press, the bishops declined to charge him. The then Presiding Bishop was quoted as saying, "Heresy is an outmoded concept."
Of course, if heresy is an outmoded concept, so is orthodoxy. The way the Episcopal Church dealt with Bishop Pike was the turning point in making the existence of our church necessary. The various reasons we left the Episcopal Church -- Prayer Book revision, ordination of women, sexual confusion, creedal chaos -- all flow from the idea that heresy is an outmoded concept.
Today is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. I would argue that except for the events of Jesus' life which we recite in the Creed, St. Paul's conversion is the most important single event in human history. The moment at which St. Paul saw the light and heard the voice of Christ as he traveled to Damascus to arrest Christians marked the effective birth of the Christian church.
God set for St. Paul the task of taking a small sect of Jews who believed that their saviour had come to earth as a carpenter in an outback of the Roman empire, and making it into an international and inclusive religion. When St. Paul crossed from present-day Turkey into present-day Greece, Christianity came to Europe for the first time. The visits he made and the letters he wrote produced Western civilization.
I want to tell you about two of my favorite of Bishop Pike's many delicious pronouncements. The first is "I don't believe in a God who tinkers." Though dressed up as a prince of the church, Bishop Pike rejected the idea that God is the sort of crude fellow who would stick his nose into human history and change things around.
Such a God would not only not have reached in and converted St. Paul, he wouldn't have come to earth in the womb of a virgin either. Not only does this view reject the Bible in its entirety, it is also a fairly convincing argument against any form of prayer or worship at all. It has been officially fine to think this way in the Episcopal Church for at least thirty years. Can anyone think we are here just for snobbish reasons of taste or because we are too inflexible to accept change?
The second of my favorite Pikeisms -- one more directly connected to today's point -- is, "St. Paul was wrong about sex." "St. Paul was wrong about sex." I hold the opinion that St. Paul was right about sex -- and about everything else he addressed. That is not because I have evaluated St. Paul's teaching and find that it squares with my notions of what is true.
I believe that St. Paul is right, because I accept the judgment of the first apostles and the fathers of the early church who teach that St. Paul speaks with the authority of God. St. Paul's teaching about sex and all the other topics about which he concerns himself are not things Christians are free to make up their own minds about. To reject St. Paul is to deny the work of the Holy Ghost.
Churches which promote the ordination of women and the ordination and marriage of practicing homosexuals obviously agree with Bishop Pike that St. Paul was wrong about sex. People who remain members of such churches -- no matter what their private opinions may be -- give at the very least their quiet approval. I'd rather be here.
Many of the great revolutions in the history of the church have become necessary because the church is always losing its moorings in St. Paul's teaching. The revolutions rediscover St. Paul and bring him back to his central position as the one who explains to us who Jesus is; what life in the Spirit is all about; and what the Father is up to.
St. Andrew and St. Margaret stands as an outpost of that revolution in our own day. Nothing could be more important. Let us rededicate ourselves and our lives together to what is expressed in the words of today's collect, "that we having St. Paul's wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful unto God for the same, by following the holy doctrine which he taught."
All things come of thee, O Lord, and of thine own have we given thee
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SERVICES & EVENTS
Sunday, January 25, 10:00 AM Combined Service (no 7:45, 9:00 or 11:15 AM Services) followed by Annual Parish Meeting. Do not attempt to attend if conditions are bad or you do not feel safe. (for online participation for the service and annual meeting, go to: https://www.facebook.com/saintsofscotland)
Discussion of the Saints this Monday 7:30 PM, undercroft, only if conditions warrant, email will be sent Monday to update
Wednesday, Noon – Holy Communion and anointing for healing
Women’s Retreat, Saturday, January 31, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Church of the Ascension, 13941 Braddock Rd, Centreville, VA. The retreat leaders will be The Ven. Michael Weaver, our own Rev. Chris Fish, and The Rev John Needham, who will guide the group through a day of reflection, renewal, and connection. The cost is $20 per participant. To sign up you can register by copying and pasting the following in your browser: https://dmas-acc.org/upcoming or contact Mrs. Debbie Weaver at 703-339-6965 or at dweaver63@verizon.net.
DMAS Lenten Retreat, Saturday, March 7, 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, St. Alban’s, Richmond, VA, more details soon
MaRiH Crisis Pregnancy Center: Critical Needs
Thank you for your help. Instead of presenting the whole list of needs, we are emphasizing the critical needs that MaRiH Center has and listing some other needs. The critical needs list below has been updated:
Diapers, sizes 5 and 6
Winter coats (Boys & Girls), size 2T
Winter clothing, sizes 3- 6 months and 2T
Wipes
Baby Blankets
Baby formula: Similac Advance Formula
Bibs: toddler
Lovies, rattles, teethers
Other needs:
Diapers, newborn, 1, 2, 3, 4
Fall/Winter Clothing, 6-9 month, 9-12 month, 12 month-18 month, 18-24month
Bibs, infant
Winter Coats, all baby sizes
There are two options for helping the Center with this need!
Option 1
Amazon has all the specific items needed. You can order the specific item(s) and have them delivered directly to the Center.
The MaRiH Center
3230B Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-4521
703-370-4774
Option 2
Go to your local store, purchase the items requested and drop them off at church on Sunday. We will deliver them to the MaRIH Center.
Food Bank Needs
With the cold weather here the food bank has more folks who need food. Please help this month with a food donation if you are able. Those we help feed are very thankful for the food we provide to them each month. Please also buy low sugar cereals (and not the kid's types that have lots of sugar). Also lower sodium products are better and more healthy.
Current needs include the following:
canned meats (chicken, corned beef, spam)
peanut butter
jelly
tuna
canned vegetables (corn, green beans - (regular and low sodium)
individual fruit cups (low sugar)
canned fruit (low sugar)
canola or vegetable oil (48 oz)
boxed cereal (low sugar) and instant or old fashioned oatmeal (18 oz or 42 oz)
pasta (regular and gluten-free):
instant potatoes
single serving fruit juice
macaroni & cheese
soups: Chunky or Progresso,noodle soup; chicken broth, cream of mushroom
coffee, cooking oil, flour, sugar
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Alexandria, VA 22301-1625